How long until you had your diagnosis? (back from psych.)

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I went to the psychiatrist today. Had been nervous all morning, and I was a bit distracted whilst driving, but I got there in one piece still. He of course began asking questions, and I tried to steer the conversation in a direction, where I could mention, that I wanted to be tested for Aspergers. Opputunity didn't really show up, so I pretty much blurted out: "I think I have Aspergers!".
His reaction was moderately disappointing; practically non-existent.. He shortly stated, that it might be possible, and quietly went on with his never-ending typing on the keyboard, whilst asking me a bleep load of questions.

I get, that he has to ask about a lot of aspects of my live. But I didn't feel as though he listened, to what I felt were the important issues to discuss. I believe he was mildly deaf, not because of above mentioned, but due to the fact that he said: "what?" dozens of times.

In the end he handed me some papers to fill out, two of which were to test me for ADHD. I know it's in some ways related to Asperger's when it comes to concentrating in noisy rooms, but out of 25 questions, only 2 or 3 apply to me.
He also wants to test me for bipolar disorder, because I have racing thoughts most nights, but I don't believe I've ever experienced manic episodes.

Gosh! How long did it take for you to get a diagnosis?
Were you tested for other disorders as well (if so, how many?)?
Did you get the feeling, that your psychiatrist understood you?

Grimm Am sorry you met a doctor who didn't listen to you I don't know what to say...
Are you going to meet him again?

I must have done 18 hours worth of testing, I took 3 different evaluations for 3 different organizations and the result was the same.

I can tell you now they don't like it very much when you go in there and say, "i got this or that!" I went in with my IEP's and my old diagnosis from the doctor who diagnosed me when I was 5 and all they said was, "you might not get the result you were hoping for but it sounds like you are on the right road with what you have."

many wasted hours with GPs but 5 hours with a specialist psychiatrist and got a diagnosis for ahdh, dyspraxia and asperger's.
good luck to you!

If you insist on Asperger's then he will not be able to prescribe anything for you.

If you had any sense you would be encouraging a diagnosis of ADHD because he will be able to prescribe you the amphetamine-type drugs which are widely regarded as some of the most effective medications available from psychiatrists (the same chemicals that people buy illegally in nightclubs every weekend!)

Err... that's a crazy comparison to make

'Wow . . . okay, alright.' [he allows himself the immediate emotional reaction]

'Wow, so you think you have Asperger's. It sounds like you've put a lot of thought into this.' [and he then brings it back toward the middle]

=====================

And it's a shame he couldn't do this. That is, he should have acknowledged that this was important to you. And it's his shortcoming that he didn't. He showed a lack of social skills!

And he missed a clinical opportunity. The formalized questions are merely a starting point, they're not the end-all and be-all. He missed the opportunity to have a genuine back-and-forth conversation with you about a matter important to your life.

I've been diagnosed half my life now. It took us a couple months to get it. I had to keep seeing my psychiatrist and my mom and him would talk. I was there in the first place for a diagnoses and it was to see what I had; ADHD, AS, or other things. I got AS, depression, and anxiety instead along with OCD.

Was tested for sessions of several hours over a couple of days. Took a week or two after that before I was called back in for the verdict.

The testing was primarily a process of elimination (at least the first half of it was), to rule out any other psychopathology.

The second half was all administered in person, one-on-one with the diagnosing psychologist. I never considered whether he 'understood me' - he wasn't my regular therapist, he was just testing me for AS based on her recommendation. I just answered the long battery of questions he asked me and did the cognition and reaction-time tests and interpreted the ink blots and stuff when instructed to do so.

Frankly, I couldn't read him at all, he was quiet and fairly passive and matter-of-fact. Not cold or rude or anything, just focused and professional. I had the distinct impression he'd done this before.

Also been diagnosed more than half my life.

Basically...

I was in a mental institution after a suicide attempt at age 14. The doctor got a developmental history from my mother and immediately told her I sounded autistic. He did a crapload of testing and a crapload of observation for a few weeks. He consulted with my neurologist and neuropsychologist. And I went home a few weeks later. Then it was a few more weeks and another admission before he formalized the diagnosis. I saw him on an inpatient and outpatient for years after that and he stayed my shrink until he retired.

And gaaaaaaaaaaah in response to the other poster I would not ask for that kind of drugs from a shrink. He prescribed them a few times for me. And I have tachycardia without those drugs. With them my heart raced so bad it caused chest pain and I was so jittery and couldn't sit still... yuck. I think people who abuse those drugs are not wired like me.

I went in for an evaluation by a child psychologist and he told me that day that it sounded like an ASD. I got my papers about a month later which listed the diagnosis as Asperger's, later changed to autism.

Excuse me, but you are being incredibly rude. If I had any sense? I do have plenty of sense, thank you very much.
I'm not in this to get drugs, especially not when I don't believe I do have ADHD. Why would I want to encourage a diagnosis I do not feel fits my mental state?

@Willard: Sounds like, I'll have to be patient. I only had 1 hour with him. My next appointment is April 15th, so with this pace, I'll probably be done in a few months or so. I'm glad to hear it's not unusual to have to go through such a peculiar elimination process. Am also glad that my psychiatrist isn't the only passive one.
It's not that I want him to get ME, I just want him to understand what I'm saying.
I mentioned to him, that I I feel like running for the hills, when things are going badly for me or when life's too drastic.
And somehow he interpreted that as: "she likes new experiences."

@AardvarkGoodSwimmer: Thanks. That was the exact response I would love to've gotten from him. (:

@ASgirl: Thanks. ^^

@jeffhermy: I know it was very blunt of me to put it like that. I should said it differently. :/ I just didn't know how to throw that ball into the conversation.

@Agni: Thanks. I think I'll give it a few more shots. We might find a better way of communicating, once I've explained myself further. I'm supposed to mail him the filled out papers back tomorrow, which will hopefully give him a better idea of what he's dealing with. I believe I must have some faith in him. He is after-all government approved, so he must have some experience. I just felt so defeated when I got home. Feeling much better now though. : D Gonna hang in there!

I'm sorry to hear, you've been through that much.
I trust you're feeling better these days? ):

Been diagnosed for a couple of years or so, now. Self-diagnosed then formally diagnosed by ASD specialist.
I have been told I am OBVIOUSLY ASD by specialists in the field. But not everyone is a specialist.
I went most of my life growing up in a family which basically comprises a bunch of people who accord with the 'Broader Autism Phenotype" and who never really read the obvious childhood displays of oddness and isolated pursuits, repetitive behaviours and impairments in language pragmatics to be anything out of the ordinary.

I spent time in psychiatric units, institutions, 7 rehabs, more institutions, time on the streets homeless and in such a mess - all because I did not ever cross paths with a specialist who understood AS and its presentation in me.

All fine now.
BUt I would prefer to have been diagnosed in early childhood and I would prefer in some ways to have had parents who actually noticed some of their children were very eccentric and had some real problems with sensory issues, healthy friendship and reciprocity, social naivety and life skills. But when you have eccentric parents....eccentricity and isolation is the norm........

I was diagnosed in 2000 after being tested to see if I have a brain injury. Before that we weren't even looking.

@DavidM: I realized, that you might not have meant it as harshly, as I understood it. If such be the case; I'm sorry.

@Milie: I continue to be amazed by the stories of this site. I'm glad to hear, you've finally been diagnosed and that you're doing a whole bunch better these days. (: Should be proud of yourself, for having overcome so many obstacles.

@Shebakoby: How did THAT come about?